Online Shopping, Tablet-Style

by Harris Cohen, the PromoGuru

Online shopping changed the face of retailing, but what will change the face of online shopping? The clear candidate is the touch screen computer – more specifically the tablet. Devices like the iPad and Galaxy can recreate the feeling of flipping through a catalog to shop a retailer’s inventory, giving a more personal, or maybe a more familiar, touch than scrolling down a list in a browser window.

QR Tech Alert: Subway Shopping

by Harris Cohen, the PromoGuru

UK-based retailer Tesco is bringing the store to the shopper using QR codes. In South Korea, the supermarket chain has set up a virtual storefront in a Seoul subway station. Wall-length advertisements were designed to look like market shelves, displaying product images and price tags featuring unique QR codes. Shoppers, while waiting for their train, can scan the codes, adding them to their online shopping cart. Once the transaction is complete, the order is processed at a nearby Tesco Homeplus and the real groceries are packaged up and delivered to the shopper’s home by the end of the day.

The approach lets consumers who may feel that they do not have enough time to go to the grocery store make ample use of their waiting time during commutes.

Click below to see a video of the set-up of the virtual supermarket:

Super-Spy Watch It May Not Be...But Pretty Darn Close!

by Harris Cohen, the PromoGuru

If you frequently leave your phone or tablet laying on your desk, but always have your wristwatch on, Fossil’s got just the thing for you!

The new Fossil “Meta Watch” will come in two models, one analog with two small digital displays, and the other fully digital. Both connect to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth tech developed by Texas Instruments. On your Meta Watch you can receive push notifications and be able to read e-mails, tweets and Facebook updates. Since none of those apps actually exist on the device itself (they are just being transmitted from your main device), the watch has a great battery life.

Pre-orders are now being accepted, or you can wait until they go on sale officially next month at $200.

Checking your phone during a meeting can be considered rude, checking your watch carries just slightly less a taboo.

Checking In to Save When Checking Out

by Harris Cohen, The PromoGuru

Foursquare, which debuted in 2009, quickly popularized the idea of “checking in” by way of an app that would tell your friends and followers if you were at a certain store, restaurant, or theater.

 The idea has since been adapted by both Facebook (with their “Places” feature) and Google (with “Latitude”). But now Foursquare is bringing in a partner to introduce a whole new level of “checking in.”